"To study music, we must learn the rules. To create music, we must forget them."
- Nadia Boulanger
Here's a funny story. Kinda sad, but still funny. By many people who know and care about such stuff, George Jones is considered the greatest country singer of all time. And his song He Stopped Loving Her Today usually gets equal praise as the greatest country tune ever recorded. Along with that, it is acknowledged that George was afflicted with many, many demons. Early on he was nicknamed “Possum” for his close-set eyes and pointed nose and later “No-Show Jones” for the many concerts he missed during drinking binges. He fought drug and alcohol addiction his entire career. He made millions of dollars and lost millions of dollars due to his addictions, mismanagement and divorce settlements, the most notable of those from Country Music Queen, Tammy Wynette.
Here's the story I ran across recently: During his fourth and final marriage, his behavior was becoming more and more erratic. Concerned, his wife hid the keys to all his cars. Undeterred , George got on his riding lawn mower and drove it eight miles to the liquor store. He and that last wife divorced not long after. Again, it's pitiful, but I can't get the mental picture out of my head of the King of Country Music tootling down the road at five-mph for an hour and a half on his Cub Cadet, whiskey bent.
A Songletter question this week was: What's your most recent playlist add? I have a few. Some new, new ones and some older ones but new to me. How about you?